Read Online Into the Abyss (Tom Swift, Young Inventor) by Victor Appleton - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Victor Appleton
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captain said. My brain was processing every word, searching for hope, for some way to save my dad and the others.
So, they needed someone to attach the cable. Well, I had my pressure-proof suit aboard, didn’t I? Man, it was a lucky thing Dad hadn’t said yes when I’d asked to come along in the
Verne-1
!
Now I had at least a fighting chance of saving his life. But how?
Yes, I could attach the cable, but first we’d have to locate the
Verne-1
. Was I just going to go down solo, hanging onto the cable?
That idea posed a big problem. Even loaded down with two air tanks, I’d only be good for three hours underwater. An hour to get down and an hour to get back up—that left only one hour.
No, I’d need more air than that—a lot more. Because the odds were, I wouldn’t find the
Jules Verne-1
waiting for me when I got to the bottom.
After all, it could have been anywhere within a two-mile radius. It would probably take a long time before I found it.
There had to be a way …
Then it hit me like a sucker punch—the
Jules Verne-O
!
Yes—the prototype that we’d built last year, when we were still working out the final design. The
Verne-O
was still stored in the warehouse at Swift Enterprises.
Assuming it was undamaged I could use the prototype to get to the sea bottom and save Dad!
“I've got to contact my mom!” I told the captain.
“Mrs. Swift is being tracked down right now,” he said. “We wanted to let her know you’ve been rescued.”
Of course
. They’d called her when I went overboard. “Did you tell her about my dad?” I asked.
The captain cleared his throat. “Not yet. We thought it was still quite possible that the submersible is all right. They may just have lost their signal.”
“No!” I said. “If that was all, you’d still be able to track their movements. The
Jules Verne-1
is not moving, Captain.”
I took a deep breath. “I need to talk to my mom right away.”
“This way, then.” The captain led me up to the bridge, where one of the crew was already speaking to my mom on the ship’s satellite link. I took the phone from him.
“Mom!”
“Oh, Tommy, you’re alive! I’m so relieved. Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine, Mom. I’ll tell you all about it later—but right now, we’ve got another emergency.”
“
Another
one? Good gracious, is your father all right?”
“Mom, I need you to contact Smitty at the warehouse. Tell him to get the
Jules Verne-O
ready for deep-sea testing
immediately
. Tell him to load it inside the Swift Sub-Obiter.”
“Yes, Tom, but what—?”
“Then, Mom, I need you to get someone to fly the Sub-Orbiter out here to the
Nestor
to deliver the submersible.”
“Yes … but it’s just a
prototype
, Tom. It was never intended to—you’re not thinking of—?”
“Mom, I can’t explain now. Just have them fly it out here as soon as possible, okay? There’s not a moment to lose—it’s a matter of life and death!”
“Life and—I’m on my way,” she said, and hung up the phone.
Wait—did she just say she was on her way?
What did that mean? She wasn’t planning on … or
was
she?
She
was
.
Three hours later—after I’d had a quick bite to eat, an hour of putting final touches on my deep-sea diving suit, and, finally, an hour of exhausted sleep—the sleek, black Swift Sub-Orbiter came over the horizon.
The Sub-Orbiter is an amazing piece of engineering. It’s designed to operate both as a helicopter—complete with hovering and vertical landing—and as a high-speed plane that can soar high enough to leave Earths atmosphere. We re trying to tweak it so that it can take the place of a space shuttle—but that’s a few years off yet.
The Sub-Orbiter came to a stop in mid-air over the
Nestor
, firing its jets forward and backward simultaneously to make the craft hover. It was far bigger than the helicopter that had dropped off my dad the day before. The helipad was way too small for it, but somehow, its pilot steered
So, they needed someone to attach the cable. Well, I had my pressure-proof suit aboard, didn’t I? Man, it was a lucky thing Dad hadn’t said yes when I’d asked to come along in the
Verne-1
!
Now I had at least a fighting chance of saving his life. But how?
Yes, I could attach the cable, but first we’d have to locate the
Verne-1
. Was I just going to go down solo, hanging onto the cable?
That idea posed a big problem. Even loaded down with two air tanks, I’d only be good for three hours underwater. An hour to get down and an hour to get back up—that left only one hour.
No, I’d need more air than that—a lot more. Because the odds were, I wouldn’t find the
Jules Verne-1
waiting for me when I got to the bottom.
After all, it could have been anywhere within a two-mile radius. It would probably take a long time before I found it.
There had to be a way …
Then it hit me like a sucker punch—the
Jules Verne-O
!
Yes—the prototype that we’d built last year, when we were still working out the final design. The
Verne-O
was still stored in the warehouse at Swift Enterprises.
Assuming it was undamaged I could use the prototype to get to the sea bottom and save Dad!
“I've got to contact my mom!” I told the captain.
“Mrs. Swift is being tracked down right now,” he said. “We wanted to let her know you’ve been rescued.”
Of course
. They’d called her when I went overboard. “Did you tell her about my dad?” I asked.
The captain cleared his throat. “Not yet. We thought it was still quite possible that the submersible is all right. They may just have lost their signal.”
“No!” I said. “If that was all, you’d still be able to track their movements. The
Jules Verne-1
is not moving, Captain.”
I took a deep breath. “I need to talk to my mom right away.”
“This way, then.” The captain led me up to the bridge, where one of the crew was already speaking to my mom on the ship’s satellite link. I took the phone from him.
“Mom!”
“Oh, Tommy, you’re alive! I’m so relieved. Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine, Mom. I’ll tell you all about it later—but right now, we’ve got another emergency.”
“
Another
one? Good gracious, is your father all right?”
“Mom, I need you to contact Smitty at the warehouse. Tell him to get the
Jules Verne-O
ready for deep-sea testing
immediately
. Tell him to load it inside the Swift Sub-Obiter.”
“Yes, Tom, but what—?”
“Then, Mom, I need you to get someone to fly the Sub-Orbiter out here to the
Nestor
to deliver the submersible.”
“Yes … but it’s just a
prototype
, Tom. It was never intended to—you’re not thinking of—?”
“Mom, I can’t explain now. Just have them fly it out here as soon as possible, okay? There’s not a moment to lose—it’s a matter of life and death!”
“Life and—I’m on my way,” she said, and hung up the phone.
Wait—did she just say she was on her way?
What did that mean? She wasn’t planning on … or
was
she?
She
was
.
Three hours later—after I’d had a quick bite to eat, an hour of putting final touches on my deep-sea diving suit, and, finally, an hour of exhausted sleep—the sleek, black Swift Sub-Orbiter came over the horizon.
The Sub-Orbiter is an amazing piece of engineering. It’s designed to operate both as a helicopter—complete with hovering and vertical landing—and as a high-speed plane that can soar high enough to leave Earths atmosphere. We re trying to tweak it so that it can take the place of a space shuttle—but that’s a few years off yet.
The Sub-Orbiter came to a stop in mid-air over the
Nestor
, firing its jets forward and backward simultaneously to make the craft hover. It was far bigger than the helicopter that had dropped off my dad the day before. The helipad was way too small for it, but somehow, its pilot steered
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